mr president my group will offer its support to the european commission
the alliance of liberals and democrats is a responsible group and we firmly believe that the next five years will be so critical for the european union and european citizens that we will need a commission that will have broad pro-european support in this parliament
but let me also be very clear
our support is conditional more so than during the last five years
we expect the new european commission to be the engine of the european union
we want a commission with a bolder more ambitious and more integrated economic and social approach a commission that is at the forefront of such a strategy a strategy that can force member states to do what they have to do
i think that certainly in the eurozone we have to recognise that there is a great need for a true economic and social pillar next to the existing monetary pillar
the problems in the eurozone today are clear proof of the failure of the weak approach that we have followed over the last ten years with the so-called open coordination method
the same is true in other areas on climate change on foreign policy and on defence policy
the basic assumption behind this new bold approach is the recognition that in fact in the multipolar world of tomorrow europe cannot play a significant role without being more effective and without further deepening its own integration in the near future
we expect you to embrace this assumption and to come forward with clear firm and ambitious proposals and reforms in all these fields
we expect that to achieve this the commission will use the right of initiative to its full potential
i am clearly talking about the commission as a whole working as a college as a cohesive political body pushing european integration forward
a strong commission may be helpful but a strong commission in that respect is indispensable
the lisbon treaty offers new tools and has enhanced our capacity for action
high representative ashton we ask you to use these new tools
we expect more from a high representative than we have seen until now
your role demands it and the european union requires it
take the opportunities
the lesson we learned from haiti is an example
put the report to establish a european civil protection force on the council table immediately
having said that my group will support this commission with its strong liberal presence and we are prepared to offer our commitment to advance the european cause with her
